Recently, Avtar Insights began a series on Avtar’s in-house second-career women. The women have taken a break from careers only to return with a lot of grit and determination to make a mark in their second innings.
In this part, meet yet another second career rockstar, Lakshmi Vijaykumar, Assistant Vice President, Events & Conferences, to trace her career journey as a journalist in her first innings and the path that has veered to the other side, creating in-depth and incisive stories and angles for journalists to write about in her second innings.
A journey that began two decades ago
I began my professional life two decades ago in 1998 when I joined a media publishing house called Media Transasia that published the popular Indian Airlines’ in-flight magazine – Swagath. I joined the IT wing that published Computer World, Information & Communications World, and PC World. I had 12 years of career continuum as a journalist at various media houses in Delhi – Business Standard, Dataquest, Express, Asian Age. It was in 2008 when the two Ms – marriage and mobility came into my life. I got into the life stage where I got married and moved to Chennai from Delhi. I continued as a journalist to work with The Hindu Business Line, where I was the Assistant Editor for their weekly supplement called the BrandLine.
The 3Ms and a break
I spoke of the two Ms previously. I made a conscious decision to take a break from my otherwise well-oiled career in journalism, when my life took a turn towards the third M – Maternity & motherhood. So, when I chose a sabbatical, coming back to the professional sphere was not on my immediate to-do list. The honest confession is there was no strategy in place and no thinking toward the same. While motherhood kept me busy through the 24 hours, there was a vacuum, and I realized that I was chasing up to win an unknown race. I turned to my old friends in Delhi, who commissioned stories on behalf of the media houses they worked for. That was my introduction to flexible and remote working back then in the year 2012.
‘Taking the plunge wasn’t easy, but not impossible…‘
I would call myself a bundle of doubts. I was filled only with doubts. All I had up in my sleeve was –self-confidence, grit to face the world, resilience to emerge stronger and a learning mindset. These were the skills that I brought to the table. I was dated. I had no clue how the corporate works. The experience before my career break made no sense at all. They were different from what the industry looked like in 2018. If operating a laptop was considered a skill, I had one. If driving a car is a skill, then I possess that too. Other than these basic characteristic-based skills, I had none of the technical skills that would be required back then.
‘What Avtar taught me…‘
That’s a story in itself. One of my dear friends from the journalism sphere gave me Dr Saundarya’s coordinates and said, these are the folks who do great work for second-career women, and it is worth a try to reach out to the founder (Dr SR). So, I message Dr Saundarya, and get an appointment to meet her and the rest is history. Two things that helped and continue to enable me in my career at Avtar –
Learnability: It is my curiosity, openness, flexibility, and growth mindset to acquire new knowledge that has empowered me to grasp the concepts of Diversity, Equity, and inclusion (DEI). Learnability also means being receptive to feedback that has enabled me to learn and adapt to change effectively and importantly stay relevant.
Leveraging Relational Power in the Workplace: I am a people person. I harness the connections and trust I have built with my colleagues, peers, and seniors to effectively navigate the organizational dynamics to collaborate and achieve the desired outcomes. I am lucky to work with leaders who mentor and coach me, with whom I gain buy-in for ideas. Through the power of relation, I can mobilize support at my workplace, foster a sense of teamwork, and cultivate a positive environment based on Trust and Respect to expand our circle of influence for wider impact in society.
Lakshmi’s second-career statement: I am known as a Miss Do-er. I would call myself a phoenix, who ignites her dreams, moves out of her comfort zone, rewrites her career narrative with an ink of resilience, reinventing herself to soar higher, proving that passion knows no boundaries and dreams have no expiry date.
Watch this space for more stories on a few amazing second-career women from Avtar.
